~ Illustrations & Odd Facts

my lips are sealed.

Madam Fannie Porter ran a very successful brothel in the late 1800’s… ahem, “boarding house”. She was born in England, well-connected, and insisted that her girls have excellent hygiene and good manners.

Because she was so selective in which girls would live and work at her brothel (generally 5 to 8 girls between the ages of 18 and 25), it became the most famous and successful stops in San Antonio. It was also a great place to hide out if you were an outlaw (although you had to remove your spurs before getting into bed). Fannie kept her mouth shut and her girls disease-free. Frequent visitors included Butch Cassidy, Kid Curry and other members of the Wild Bunch gang- but it was also popular with lawmen- who got the “extra special treatment”.

Aside from her well-known discretion, Fannie protected her girls and had no problem banning abusive clients from her gilded and gorgeous house of ho’s.

No one really knows what became of Fannie- some say she went back to England, some say that she married a wealthy man and retired… there’s really no trace of her after the brothel closed.

To read more, including what became of some of her extremely notorious girls- there’s a great article here: http://www.texasescapes.com/MaggieVanOstrand/Fannie-Porter-of-San-Antonio.htm

Nerd is the Word!

I love studying quirky history, so illustrating the people I research makes me one happy nerd girl. Did you know Queen Victoria had Bishopophobia? or that when Elizabeth of Russia died, they found 15,000 dresses in her uh... closet?

It's good stuff- and I plan to illustrate all the royal weirdos I can find.

All illustrations are my personal property- if you'd like to use them, just ask!